Chapter 3: Echoes of the Past
Aden tightened his grip on the knife, his pulse a steady drumbeat against his ribs. The rumbling grew louder, a deep, guttural vibration that resonated through the stone walls. From the shadows ahead, something stirred.
A flicker of torchlight revealed a figure—a statue at first glance, humanoid but unnervingly wrong. Its body was made of interlocking stone plates, its face an empty mask of cracked marble. Then it moved.
Aden barely had time to react before the thing lunged.
Instinct took over. He rolled to the side as a stone fist slammed into the ground where he had stood, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the temple floor. The force alone could have shattered bone. He didn't need a second reminder.
His knife was useless against something like this. The realization settled in cold and sharp. He needed a plan. Fast.
His eyes flickered across the room, searching. The glowing symbols on the floor pulsed in a slow rhythm, and something about them seemed… deliberate.
Aden took a gamble. He lunged toward one of the symbols and stomped on it.
The effect was immediate. A pillar shot up from the ground, striking the golem square in the chest. The force knocked it back, buying Aden a few precious seconds.
He moved fast, testing another symbol. This time, the torches flared brighter, and the golem hesitated—just for a moment, but enough to confirm his suspicion. The temple wasn't just throwing obstacles at him. It was guiding him.
This wasn't just a death trap. It was a trial.
The realization didn't make things easier. If anything, it made the situation worse. Trials had purposes. Which meant someone—something—had set this up long ago, waiting for someone like him to stumble in.
He didn't have time to dwell on it. The golem recovered, its head tilting in an almost human manner, as if reassessing him. Then it charged again.
Aden's mind worked fast. If the symbols reacted to him, then there had to be a pattern—a sequence. The temple wanted something from him.
He weaved between the glowing runes, triggering them in quick succession. A second pillar rose. The torches flared again. A deep hum resonated through the air, and then—
The golem stopped.
For a moment, everything was still. Then the creature turned its head toward Aden, and in a voice like grinding stone, it spoke.
"You are not yet worthy. But you may proceed."
The golem stepped aside, revealing an archway that hadn't been there before. Beyond it, stairs spiraled downward into darkness.
Aden exhaled slowly, his heart still hammering.
Not worthy? What the hell did that mean? And if he wasn't worthy… then what waited for someone who was?
He didn't like the answer. But there was only one way to find out.
He took a step forward. Then another. And as he descended into the depths of the temple, he couldn't shake the feeling that this job was about to turn into something far bigger than he had signed up for.
Because deep down, he knew—he wasn't just retrieving something from the past.
The past was waking up.